Kansas City
Bakersfield
Roadrunners Survive ?Roos At Swinney Rec
1/25/2014 4:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball
“Give credit to Bakersfield for executing when they needed to,” Head Coach Marsha Frese said. “I'm disappointed that we didn't follow through with our scouting report. That's the mark of a locked in team, that you can follow and execute the scouting report. We have a week to prepare for Grand Canyon and all we can do is keep coming back and hope for better results in the next game.”
Senior Kim Nezianya added 17 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Kelsey Barnwell added 10 points and five rebounds.
In a game that featured 14 lead changes and nine ties, the 'Roos built the first cushion with an opening 7-4 lead.
Bakersfield then tied the game at 10 before scoring seven straight to go in front 17-10 with just over 14 minutes to play.
Kansas City battled back to tie the game at 19 and used a 9-0 run to take a 23-19 lead after four straight Nezianya free throws midway through the half.
The Kangaroos would stretch the lead to as many as six after Taylor Leathers buried a three and O'Connor knocked down two free throws, but Bakersfield regained the lead with seven straight and took a 42-41 lead into halftime.
Coming out of the locker room, CSUB extended their lead to seven, but a 14-2 UMKC run, including seven from O'Connor, put the 'Roos back ahead 53-50 at the 14:00 mark of the second half.
Kansas City continued to lead over the next five minutes until a 9-0 run by the Roadrunners gave Bakersfield a 68-61 lead with just over seven minutes to play.
UMKC would close the gap to four on three separate occasions over the game's final minutes, but could get no closer at CSUB came away with the 87-80 victory.
“It's always disappointing losing to a team that we are more than capable of beating,” O'Connor said. “Basketball is all about who shows up that day and unfortunately we weren't locked in enough to get the win. We still have some room for growth and adjustments to make and once we make those fixes, we will play to our potential and get wins.”
Offensively, the 'Roos knocked down 8-of-15 from three-point range for a season-high 53.3 percent.
The Blue & Gold will be back in action in one week when they head to Phoenix, Ariz., to take on Grand Canyon in WAC play at 2 p.m.
